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Uncertainty and Underdetermination in Precambrian Paleobiology — Extinct



There’s one very last thing to say. A number of of the opposite preservational morphs of Aspidella have names that ought to now be acquainted. These embody Ediacaria (Sprigg’s unique “jellyfish”) and Spriggia, which Glaessner interpreted as a medusoid. Certainly, as Gehling et al. write, “As soon as the Aspidella morphs have been retrodeformed, they can’t be distinguished from different Ediacaran discoidal taxa, and can be recognized variously as Ediacaria, Cyclomedusa, Spriggia, Tirasiana, Irridinitus, or Planomedusites if present in different Ediacaran websites across the globe” (442). The conclusion, once more, is that these names select completely different areas of a fossil morphospace, wherein a variety of buildings are produced by specimens differing in physique measurement and residing in numerous sedimentary environments.

That is how the “Age of Jellyfish” ends. Not with a bang however a whimper.

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ADDITIONAL WEB RESOURCES

For a treasure trove of knowledge on Aspidella, see:
http://fossilslanark.blogspot.com/2019/05/photographs-of-gsc-221-one-of-alexander.html

And for a pleasant write-up on the Charnia saga, see:
https://www.damninteresting.com/chronicles-of-charnia/

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